Adilabad Water Woes

There will be less of drinking water shortage and proportionate decrease in vulnerability for water borne diseases in the agency areas of Adilabad this year onwards as the long awaited Komram Bheem Drinking Water Supply Scheme (KBDWS) to tribal habitations will go operational this summer.

In the first instance, a section of the scheme will be inaugurated on March 10 to supply drinking water to 70 habitations of Kerameri mandal while the rest of the 169 habitations will get protected water sometime in April.

The KBDWS envisages supply of purified drinking water to the 2.3 lakh tribal population in the mandals of Kerameri, Jainoor, Sirpur (U), Narnoor, Utnoor and Indervell in two phases at a cost of Rs. 156 crore. Hundreds of people from the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in these mandals succumb to water borne diseases every year owing to consumption of contaminated water.

Though work on the first phase of this scheme started three year ago, its progress picked up only after Collector Babu A. took personal interest.

“We first removed a major hurdle by way of getting the mandatory forest clearance as the pipeline and other works need to come up in reserve forest sections,” he revealed.

“The next hurdle was overcome by way of a power substation which will supply electricity to the scheme through a dedicated line,” he adds. The Northern Power Distribution Corporation Limited Chairman and Managing Director gave priority to completion of the work in the interest of tribals in this district.

The KBDWS scheme envisages lifting of 12 million liters of water (MLD) every day from the Komram Bheem Irrigation Project in nearby Asifabad mandal. Water will be purified at the plant established for this purpose near Dhanora village in Kerameri and supplied through a huge pipeline.

“All the end connections to the over head tanks at the 70 habitations have been made. A trial run to be taken up in a day or two will also serve to rectify whatever small faults which show up,” said Rural Water Supply Deputy Executive Engineer K. Rajender Kumar.